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By Courtney Hooton
Talk to any Golfer Girl and she will have her favorite golf shoe, favorite golf club, favorite golf marker and, of course, her favorite LPGA golf star... and I am no different!
My favorite golf shoes are pink Fiona Sandbaggers. My favorite golf club is my TaylorMade lob wedge and my favorite marker is a sparkly pink heart. Most importantly, my completely, positively, absolutely favorite LPGA superstar is none other than... Natalie Gulbis. She has style, class, beauty, smarts and game beyond belief. I must confess, I try to emulate her so much that sometimes my mom calls me “little Nat.”
You can imagine my delight when I got the amazing opportunity to walk with Natalie during the Pro Am of the Kraft Nabisco. I know I am not alone in my adoration for Natalie, so I thought I would share my day with you. I wish all you Golfer Girl readers could have been with me; you would have had a blast!
After a sleepless night (because of the butterflies in my stomach), I arrived at Rancho Mirage and began my search for Natalie. I can’t really call it a search... she’s pretty easy to find at any LPGA tournament because of the huge gallery of fans that flock to her. She draws some of the biggest crowds of all the tour players. And sure enough, shortly after hitting the links, I spotted a tall, tan blonde with a very large group following behind her. I knew it had to be Natalie!
Between holes, I joined Natalie inside the ropes. As I walked up to her to introduce myself, I was really nervous. I wondered how she would react. She had a gentle smile and friendly demeanor which instantly put me at ease. She even went out of her way to introduce my dad to her dad, John Gulbis. She was so welcoming. She introduced me to the guys in her Pro-Am foursome. A Pro-Am typically takes place before a professional tournament. The “Ams” pay a large fee to play with one of the professionals. Natalie was playing with two Safeway executives and actor Craig T. Nelson. Mr. Nelson is best known for his leading role as “Hayden Fox” on the television series “Coach.” But even with all of his credits, the star of the day was clearly Natalie. They played a best-ball format. With this format, all of the players played their ball from the best shot of their group on each shot. Naturally, most of the shots were from Natalie’s lie. Yeah!
One thing I noticed right away was how cool being on the LPGA tour really is. The caddies dress up in white and wear your name in large text on their back. And let’s not forget... they carry your bag for you!
As we walked along with the foursome, numerous fans asked Natalie to pose for a picture with them, sign autographs and say hello. We had the opportunity to see many of the other players, and they were all impressive. But Natalie (“Nat” to her friends) has a presence that is special. She has the glamour of a movie star! Everyone wanted to meet her. She never rushed through, and she took the time to address everyone.
Mr. Gulbis was there for the whole round and helped her with swing tips and with refining things like her stance. What impressed me was that, even at the age of 25, Nat really listened to her father, who still plays a very active role in her career and golf development. He knows more about her swing than anyone else on the planet. She is also supported by Auntie Val (Valerie Clark) and her caddie, Greg Sheridan. Greg told me stories about all of the successful people he has worked with. He told me, “All of the players are impressive, but none of them make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for me like Nat does.” Spending time with Nat, it was clear that her parents, John and Barbara, have done an excellent job teaching their daughter to be a good person.
We talked a bit about golf, but I really enjoyed hearing her perspectives on fashion, cool magazines, the celebrities that she has met, and the scoop on LPGA gossip. Natalie is a celebrity among celebrities. At the tenth hole, two other girls started to watch Natalie from outside the ropes. I recognized one of them as Danna Plourde, who had been in my foursome in a recent tournament. When Natalie noticed them, she asked them to join us, and we became her cheering squad.
The highlight of my day was when Nat asked me to come sink her 15-foot putt on the 17th hole in front of the ginormous gallery. I have never been more nervous, but I sank the putt... in three tries! Natalie raised her arms like I was the best golfer in the world. She high-fived me in classic, sweet Natalie style!
Although Nat is really pretty and very nice, don’t let appearances fool you. At her core, she is a fierce competitor. She played very well all day. Her drives were straight, her putting was great and her chipping was amazing. As we finished our round, Natalie had a tricky approach shot in front of her and the pin was tucked away at the back right edge of the green. The gallery was much bigger on the 18th green than on any of the others, and I could tell that Nat wanted to make a good showing. She did her pre-shot routine, stepped up and hit her iron shot straight as an arrow to within five feet of the pin. After she putted out, I was able to say a quick good-bye and thank her just before the rush of fans engulfed her to say hi, collect autographs and wish her well.
Natalie Gulbis personifies what a Golfer Girl is all about. She exhibits a skillful golf game that only comes from hard work and a lot of natural of talent. She is quick to mention how lucky she is to have the life of a successful LPGA star. She is friendly to everyone she sees on the course and goes out of her way to say hello to as many of the gallery as she can. She is classy, beautiful, and a great person.
As my day ended, I couldn’t believe how lucky I had been. I got to say hello to many of the top LPGA stars, while spending the day with my absolute favorite golfer in the world. Thanks Nat!
Post Script: On the very next day, the first day of play for the Kraft Nabisco LPGA tournament, I spied Nat through an enormous gallery, and I stood behind the ropes by the green as her approach shot landed short and in the bunker. It looked like she was off to a rough start. As I mentioned before, looks can be deceiving. She blasted her bunker shot within six feet of the pin and sank the putt as if there were nothing to it. Natalie proceeded to go on a birdie spree, collecting five in all, and finished with a 69, good enough for third place going into the second round. I counted my blessings that I was able to spend the previous day with a true professional! |
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